Raxis
Landscape: Full Ecology (Cold Forests, Plains, Mountains, Hills). Raxis is a harsh domain ringed with treacherous mountains, including the Waldreich Mountains, which mark Fontraile's highest point. The country's trackless steppes are buried under near-constant snow. Large amounts of local wildlife, including deer and Ice Rabites, subsist on lichens, bark, and evergreen nuts. The dark conifer forests are extremely old, and the presence of predatory animals, such as Winter Wolves and Snow Couerls, is a nigh-constant occurence in the undeveloped regions of Raxis, even with frequent patrols. Brutal winds constant scream across the plains, and blizzards are a weekly hardship the Raxians endure. For all of three months a year, the domain is not completely covered in snow - during the summer months. The winters are exceptionally harsh. Most houses and structures in Raxis are well-fortified and made of stone, with walls several feet thick and designed in such a way as to trap heat. Raxis Castle, a sprawling fortress designed as a military bastion by Zalen's royal family, is notably more grand, featuring massive walls and extensive fortifications. Located in the dead-center of Raxis' Capital, Vashar, it is a testament to the country's formidable military might. Major Settlements: Vashar, Aurelia, Elhenyalenk, Oreska The Folk: Population: Estmated to be about 14.5 Million. Humans 53%, Viera 30%, Other 17%. Primary Exports: Turnips, Seafood, Metal Ores, Salt, Rye, Gems, Timber, Furs. Coinage: Iceshard (GP), Frostmark (SP), Nip (CP). Characters: Lord Jaimas Van Burace, Queen Elhena Scellanta, Queen Aurelis Damaceri, Princess Zoe Van Burace, Commissar Naisha Grant The Law: Hereditary Monarchy with Representative Council. Lord Protector Jaimas Van Burace rules the domain, having assumed the position by popular demand following the Reclamation. Highly respected, Jaimas primarily fulfills his duties as the head of the Raxian Military, generally leaving affairs of state to the elected representative council in Raxis or, more commonly, his two wives, Elhena and Aurelis. Whilst both serve in a militaryu capacity as well, they are far more frequently employed for their expertise in matters of state. Raxis maintains a representative council that serves both an advisory purpose and as a check so as to prevent power abuses by any representative (including the royal family). Each major city in Raxis elects an individual councilmember, which has a 2-year term and is directly elected. Whilst the system in Raxis is potentially quite abusable, the mandatory 2 years of military service required to hold office in Raxis, paired with the high turnover rate, has done much to keep abuses down. This said, the royal family's political influence is considerable, and their opinion can be expected to carry considerable clout. History: Originally a country named Zalen, Raxis is a very young country - only 15 years old - for one which has gained power as quickly as it has. Zalen itself was a rather small kingdom in the mountains of nothern Fontraile; it was quickly conquered during the opening days of the Ekris War, and its conquerers, the country of Valendia, quickly turned the country into a network of labor camps, exploiting the local population in order to harvest Zalen's bountiful metal ore reserves. Well-protected by the proximity of its ally, the Paramisian Empire, Valendia needed keep only a relatively small military presence in Zalen - just enough to keep the Labor camps running and the prisoners in line. What Valendia did to Zalen's indigenous Viera population was monstrous; during its 25-year occupation, the Valendians had, through starvation, exhaustion, violence, and suicide, caused the death of nearly 30% of the indigenous Northern Viera population. The remaining tribes of Viera in Zalen became fiercely xenophobic and hostile towards humanity in general, embittered by the Valendians' rote cruelty. Long after the Ekris War, Valendia attempted to "buy off" Jaimas Van Burace by offering him a tiny parcel of land in Zalen if he would quietly agree not to testify against the country during hearings at the League of Nations. Agreeing to this, Jaimas headed to Zalen immediately - but unbeknownst to Valendia, proceeded to be far more dangerous than anyone in the country ever anticipated. Calling in favors from allies in merc groups, and luring in support from the government of Hevaraz, Jaimas incited a rebellion amongst the workers and succeeded in liberating two of the largest labor camps in the region. With Valendia under scrutiny due to the ongoing hearings, it was unable to take effective military action against this civilian uprising, which gained strength rapidly as it moved onward. Jaimas made numerous overtures towards the Viera, succeeding in winning their support in chasing out the Valendians. Within a year, the country was entirely under the rebels' control. They named the new Country "Raxis," and Jaimas, by popular demand, was appointed the country's ruler. Raxis, following its formation, underwent a rough transition as the freedom fighters that had secured the country found themselves on garrison duty as the country's fledgling military - a role they were ill-prepared for when Destiny's Call, a militant group, saw an opportunity in taking the resource-rich country for itself after failing to blackmail or bribe members of the newborn Raxian government into submission. Assaults by DC were incredibly harsh - the militant group extensively employed incredibly tough races such as Trolls and Orcs to spearhead assaults - paired with more conventional forces and support, Raxis was hard-pressed to deal with these threats, and only prevented DC from advancing with a staggering toll in lives. Refusing to leave the land they had fought for, the Raxians dug in, stating that the territory belonged to the Raxians, or it belonged to no one - conducting a scorched-earth policy intended to deny DC anything of value as the militants slowly pushed deeper and deeper into Raxian territory. The turning point in the war came from two sources - the Raxian Government committing all available resources towards re-equipping and re-training its soldiers, and Raxis' climate - winter rolled in, and with it, the killing frosts and sub-zero temperatures that came with it. Destiny's Call, unable to make effective headway with the constant blizzards, was forced to switch from offense to holding what they had taken. When the battle between Destiny's Call and Raxis was joined, some 5 months later, Destiny's Call found a very different opponent from the one they had originally fought - well-trained and well-equipped soldiers with modern armor and weaponry, as opposed to the disorganized and badly-outgunned, if bold, soldiers they had fought previously. Whilst the war officially ended at year's end, it was a lengthy 3-year campaign to retake Raxis inch-by-inch and repulse the last vestiges of Destiny's Call from the region. Military: Raxis is infamous for its militarism. The country spawned from a coup, and it has, since its foundation, believed in maintaining a strong military presence so as to deal with any conflict that may arise. Well-trained and well-equipped, Raxian soldiers are famous for their tenaciousness in holding their ground against even the most hopeless odds, and their ability to suffer the most appalling casualties without breaking - a common refrain from those that have faced them is that the only way to take areas the Raxians are holding is to wipe them out to the last. Their willingness to stand against any foe, disdaining retreat and surrender whilst any shred of victory is in sight, has done a lot to give the Raxians a well-deserved reputation as one of the most effective military forces on Fontraile. Recruitment for the Raxian Military is similar to many other countries on Fontraile, though it enforces conscription during times of war. Most civilians that join the Raxian Military do so out of a sense of duty to one's country. Additionally, a law in Raxis specifically states that almost government positions of authority requires that the subject have at least one year of active service in the Raxian Military, so individuals who are seeking a position in the Raxian government must serve, for a time, in the Raxian military, with the exception of civilian-level postings. Officer-level ranks are comparatively difficult to obtain; in many regiments in the Raxian Military, a trooper must work his or her way up from the bottom. To ensure that candidates are tough enough and skilled enough, the training for Raxian soldiers is exceptionally brutal, and quickly forges them into worthy candidates - or weeds the weaker ones, more suitable for non-combat postings, quickly. In this fashion, Raxis is able to maintain its formidable discipline. All Raxian soldiers are given heavy body armor and equipped with helmets that have rebreathers - they are trained to permanently operate with them if required, such as in the case of a chemical assault. New recruits are trained directly under the Commissariat - who drills into the newcomers the importance of their duty and, in most cases, make them fear failure. This mental conditioning is a key part of their training, performed so that they are prepared to stand their ground in combat under any situation, preparing them for the horrors of what they are likely to see on the battlefield. The Raxian Military is well-known for unflinching resolve, even in the face of overwhelming odds. Much of this is due to the presence of Raxis' Commissariat, brutal political officers who are trained to maintain their units' morale and discipline by any means necessary. Paired with the extensive training Raxians have, this results in their combat style of choice being brutally efficient - the Raxians favor trench and siege warfare, and excel in grinding enemies down in wars of attrition, employing a combination of artillery barrages, armored warfare, and a yard-by-yard advance, turning battlefields into cratered hellholes marked by thickets of razorwire and mazes of trenches and bunkers. Once dug in, the Raxians prove extremely hard to dislodge without wiping them out entirely. The Raxian Military lacks proper training facilities for mages. However, the large number of Viera in the region has resulted in Raxis understanding for the need to develop training facilities for psychics in order to deal with enemy psionic units and mages. Whilst many psionic individuals exist within the Raxian Military, only the stronger ones are deemed powerful enough to train. Once fully-stabilized, members of Raxis' Psi-Corps are capable of unleashing powerful psychic attacks and countering the abilities of enemy mages and psychics. Raxian Psi-Corps soldiers have a vital secondary role as well - to coordinate troops and relay orders in the case of a communications breakdown. Whilst they are often seen as the answer to Miranda's Task Mages, the ability of individual Psi-Corps officers tends to fluctuate much more wildly, meaning that some are somewhat sub-par, whilst others are phenomenally powerful. The prevalence of non-human races in Raxis means that non-human troops are a staple in Raxian forces. Whilst most of their forces are human, the Raxian Military possesses an enormous number of Viera, Gnolls, and even a number of Ogres.